Skin of fretting fingers peeling off The skin of the tips of my fretting fingers is peeling off. Is this normal or should I go a little easy on practicing for a few days? It also hurts a little bit but there is no blood, I wouldn’t worry abt the pain if the skin wasn’t peeling, so someone with some experience plz reply. Thanks for your time
It is normal for that to happen. But, if it hurts a lot then a change in strings could sort out that problem.
as well as taking things easy and going ahead rather slowly at first if needed... the fingers need some time to get used to the extreme pressures involved. some calluses will appear after the initial peel-offs which in turn will help make fretting subsequently easier with lesser skin damage.
Cool, you can call yourself a true guitarist now! The skin will peel, a new harder layer will form. The idea is to form hard callouses on the tips of your fingers, that'll really help u play well and also improve the tone you produce. Don't get put off by peeling skin - some of the Indian stringed instrumetns can get even more gory! Some Indian stringed instrument players soak their fingers in lukewarm water after practising to soften the callouses and soothe the pain, so you can try that if it hurts too much.
Thanks guys, I was so disappointed that the skin was peeling (especially after all I did to get it at least a bit tough), I thought the new skin would be so soft that it would make it impossible to play. Knowing that its normal actually makes me feel a lot better. I’ve read many times in this forum that "prash rocks" (being said by many ppl)… I guess it’s true you’re the dude with all the technical answers Thanks brothers :nw: One more question though... will the skin peel again or will the new layer stay?
And will washing the hands too much and using lotion take away the thoughness (I don't want that to happen as you all know)
I'd advise not to soak your fingers in water as that defeats the objective. The idea here is to harden them as much as possible. I've addressed this before somewhere in this forum. Try swabbing your fingertips with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl). Walk into any good Chemist and ask for a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. It'll cost 20 bucks or something. Rubbing alcohol is the liquid used to cleanse your skin before an injection. It's an over-the-counter product and will benefit you immensely. You can use it for a lifetime without ever having to complain that your fingertips hurt. I use it for both left and right hand (since I play fingerstyle) and it's worked wonders. In less than a week you should notice the results. Google "calluses rubbing alcohol" to read more about it. Raj
What you are experiencing is normal. But beware of Tetanus.. If you are using old strings take a shot of "tetVac" which will last for 6 months or so and will keep you from Tentanus.. If you are using newer strings you are quite safe.. Trust me I take Tetvac every 6 months..
I Googled "calluses rubbing alcohol" like you said and found a cool website but it also gave a lot of bad new such as wrist problems, finger nail problems, etc. and now jayanth comes talking abt Tetanus. :think: I never considered all the risks musicians take. I'll try using the rubbing alcohol, thanks for the suggestion raj... jayanth you scared me but thanks anyway for making me aware of it.
i dont think the callouses are somethin u need to tend to...they r just your body's mechanisms.....its like getting corn....belive me .my fingers are so hard now..i can hardly feel anything...yeah...people forgot to metntion that u cant feel much with the tips later on....at least i cant...and technically that should happen as the layer of skin is just keratin with no innervation of nerve endings..so u gonna feel less of everything..texture, temperature..and mainly pain..... but a little later when the callouses become too thick they MIGHT impinge on the tissues below...and hurt...that can be corrected by just filling em away..... take care...of those fingers... i guess in my case the most hurt caused to my fingers was due to broken windings on the 3rd string...so i shifted to an unwound 3rd...bends easliy and hurts less in the long run...lasts long too.... speaking of which how many people use unwound 3rds..
The problem with Tetanus occurs only if you cut your fingers.. Callouses are a phase every guitarist has to go thru.. Pain and Blood are/maybe a part of it.. Anyways Sonali dont be scared of these things.. I do it that way cause i practice/play a lot.. So the risk is Hyper High for me. Unwound Thirds are kind of sad.. I prefer Wound..
Perhaps you are referring to Dansm's guitar page; more specifically the page below. https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~desmith/guitar/acoustic/hand/index.html That guy deserves all the kudos. Wrist problems do affect guitar players. It's mainly due to poor technique. I've addressed this issue too in a couple of threads (RSI, Tendonitis etc.) including the best possible exercise for strengthening the tendons of your hands. As for fingernails, it's only a concern for fingerstyle guitarists. Till date I haven't come across a single guitarist who has been affected by the Tetanus bacteria. In fact I do not know any guitarist who has cut his fingertips due to playing the guitar, let alone bleed. If someone has, it could be attributed to bad technique, foolishness, or rusty old strings. In plain words he/she wasn't exercising common sense. It is definitely possible; but then, anything is possible. You don't have to be at all bothered about Tetanus. You could be more bothered about the sky falling on your head. Keep changing your strings every three months or so and do not play when your fingertips hurt excessively. They need to recuperate too. In case you are paranoid get yourself a Tetanus Vaccination. You don't have to take it every 6 months, but rather once every 10 years. Raj
actually in adults its once ever 5yrs...thats what we were taught....or before any invasive surgery...ive taken em quiet a few times.....i keep hurtin mself a lot..
Truyst ME I have seen one case.. Really bad.. Specifically Tetvac is to be taken once every 6 months just because I seem to have a problem.. Some Allergy to something.. The dosage given to me is really small. .Since we had to work in the workshop for the first year of Engg, thats when i had t obe more careful..
:shock: i'm not looking forward to the day i have to do that. and jay plz take care of your fingers, i don't want anything bad to happen to them.
Nothing's gonna happen to my fingers.. They have now got used to strings.. I havent seen them chip off since more than about 3 years now.. He he.. Thanks for the concern..
That's indeed a good thing to do. If you don't file them away, sooner or later you'd require a chainsaw to cut down the thick calluses. Raj